Stratford and Sherman County leaders held a groundbreaking Tuesday for a new Cobblestone Hotel on the north edge of town, near Star RV Park. Local officials described the project as an economic development success. The hotel is expected to offer lodging for travelers, business visitors and community events.
Kathy Allen of the Sherman County Development Corporation said the project took two years, ten months and five days to reach groundbreaking. Tommy Bogart, Stratford city manager, said the hotel will receive a five-year property tax rebate from the city, which he called a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Wesley Miller, a local partner, said abatements are a tool rural communities must use to attract businesses, or those businesses will go elsewhere. Miller said other taxing entities in the county will receive 100 percent of the property's taxable value, and the city and the development corporation will receive two percent local sales tax revenue from the hotel.
According to the company, the three-story hotel will have 54 guest rooms, an indoor pool, conference and meeting space, a bar and lounge, and a modern lobby. Partners recognized at the ceremony include Frontier Bank, Jack and Barbara Hale, who provided the land, Bailey and Corey Naugle, and the Wesley Miller family.